ILIR Needs Big Turnout

THE need for Irish families to show solidarity with their undocumented family members here in America is critical according to Kelly Fincham, executive director of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) who is in Ireland for the past two weeks coordinating this Saturday “Friends and Family” day to be hosted by ILIR in Dublin.

“There is mindset in much of the media over here that the illegals in America are of no account and that they could all easily come home anyway,” Fincham told this column on Monday. “It is hard to persuade them that this is a real crisis for thousands of Irish families.

Fincham says that only a large attendance on Saturday at Jurys Hotel in Ballsbridge, close to the American Embassy, can make the point.

“We need the families to turn out. We need to put this issue high on the media agenda,” she said. “It is simply not just a case of everyone over here understanding this issue.”

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Sinn Fein’s soon to be Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, as well as SDLP Assembly member P.J. Bradley, are all slated to attend the meeting which begins at 1 p.m. and will run until 4 p.m.

“The politicians are keenly aware of the issue, but there is a certain bias in some areas of the media against believing this is as big as we have said it is,” said Fincham.

”That is why we are asking again for undocumented and their friends in the U.S. to call their families and friends and ask them to come. It is really vital.” For more information on the event go to www.irishlobbyusa.org.

AOH Records Now Available

THE Ancient Order of Hibernians National President Jack Meehan has just announced that some of the earliest records from the AOH are now available on their website at www.aoh.com.

They make fascinating reading. The 1884 national officer directories and the 1902 directory show an organization that was huge in numbers over 100,000 members coast to coast and present in every state in the union.

There was, of course, a split at the time as well which the organization was working through. It was a time when there was a huge dispute over whether non Irish-born people could join the Hibernians. Women were consigned to the Ladies Auxiliary divisions.

Yet the records also show that at its heart the AOH was perhaps the most powerful Irish organization ever in the history of the Irish in the U.S. Well worth a look and kudos to Meehan and the other officers who made this fascinating look back at the past possible.

Thompson Honors Irish

NEW York City Comptroller William Thompson is confidently expected to become a candidate for mayor of New York in 2009, and on April 18 he will be tipping his cap to the Irish community. A few weeks back City Council President Christine Quinn had her own Irish event, also honoring local Irish figures, so it is interesting to see both are already pushing for the Irish vote.

Thompson, an African American, is low key but very capable and will face off with Quinn and Congressman Anthony Weiner in the Democratic race for the nomination. Other candidates may well emerge, but Weiner for now would probably be the front-runner given his close race for the nomination in 2005. There has been no significant figure on the Republican side to announce to date.

Thompson has the able assistance of his Irish aide Pat Doherty, who has an amazing record on issues such as the MacBride Principles which he basically invented. Given Quinn had difficulties in recent weeks with the very same issue, there is no doubt that Thompson has the advantage there.

His honorees this year are an eclectic and interesting mix. They are FatherJoseph O’Hare, former president of Fordham University and former chairman of the New York City Campaign Finance Board; Carol Anne Riddell, education reporter and anchor for NBC4; Elaine M. Walsh, PhD, professor of Urban Affairs at Hunter College; Ciaran Staunton, vice chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform and owner of O’Neill’s Restaurant; and Nuala O’Faolain, journalist and acclaimed author.

Huge Demand From U.S.

THE demand for tickets from the U.S. to see the first day of the North’s new government has been so great that many who had previously received invites have been asked to return them.

From all over the U.S., Irish American activists are keen to see the historic day on Tuesday, May 8 when Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness take the reins on the government on a day which very few dreamed they would ever witness.

Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein report very strong interest from America in coming to Stormont on the day, and doubtless there will also be a fair few American politicians who will want to be present for history in the making.

Those who will not be there will include sourpusses such as Conor Cruise O’Brien, Ruth Dudley Edwards and Kevin Myers, the media revisionist commentariat who for the last 30 years have predicted doom and gloom for the North, and who have in the past week slammed Paisley or doing the deal that saved the North’s government.

If you want to see a magnificent article targeting the naysayers go to www.nuzhound.com and read Brian Feeney, the most incisive commentator in the North who has skewered them beautifully.